Silkwood
Biography, Drama, Thriller
Starz / Anchor Bay  (1983) 131 mins R

7.1 (5,374 votes)
Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) works in a plutonium processing plant in Oklahoma. When the plant gets behind fulfilling a contract, the company begins to take short cuts that Karen thinks is putting her and her co-workers in danger. She gets union leaders behind her complaints but finds herself at odds with the management of the company. Her life becomes more complicated when her boyfriend (Kurt Russell) leaves her and her roommate moves a lover into her home. These distractions don't deter Karen who intends to deliver documents to a newspaper reporter to expose the unsafe conditions at the factory. But Karen has made enemies who would like to stop her....

Play
Cast and Crew
Meryl Streep  ......  Karen Silkwood
Kurt Russell  ......  Drew Stephens
Cher  ......  Dolly Pelliker
Sudie Bond  ......  Thelma Rice
Henderson Forsythe  ......  Quincy Bissell
Charles Hallahan  ......  Earl Lapin
Director  .....  Mike Nichols
Producer  .....  Mike Nichols; Michael Hausman
Writer  .....  Nora Ephron; Alice Arlen
Musician  .....  Georges Delerue
Notes
Goofs:
Continuity: When the house is plundered by men looking for radiation, Karen and Dolly are questioned and then Dolly is taken away. But not long afterward, in a close shot of Karen, you can see Dolly in the background. (more)

Trivia:
The scene where Silkwood set off the radiation alarms actually happened. Her level of contamination was forty times the safe limit. (more)

Filming Locations:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (more)

Quotes:
[on the deceased former workers of a nuclear plant]
Angela: They all look as though they died before they were dead.
(more)

Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations (more)